let's say William becomes king after Charles and marries a woman who then becomes queen (consort), but Will dies without having any children. So then the throne passes to Harry, who is also married, and who then becomes king. Does William's wife continue to be called 'queen'? Does she give this title up to Harry's wife??

If William predeceases his wife, whether he's succeeded by his brother or a son or daughter of his own, his wife will still be known as Queen, since that was her title when she was widowed. If a child of hers becomes king or queen, she'd be Queen Mother (whether she used the title or not - much as Queen Elizabeth did and Queen Mary didn't); if her husband was succeeded by another family member, she'd become Queen Dowager. I read somewhere that a Queen Mother has more rights than a Queen Dowager (a fact that was supposed to have pleased Queen Mary after George V's death), but it didn't go into details about what those rights were.

I read somewhere that a Queen Mother has more rights than a Queen Dowager (a fact that was supposed to have pleased Queen Mary after George V's death), but it didn't go into details about what those rights were.

I think it would just be in order of precedence.

If there were three Queens living, as for example, Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and [Dowager] Queen Mary from February 1952 to March 1953, the order of precendence would be in that order.

Queen Mary would have been "Queen Mother" during the reigns of Edward VIII and George VI, before being "relegated" to Queen Dowager, aka Queen Mary, when Elizabeth II came to the Throne.
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If William predeceases his wife, whether he's succeeded by his brother or a son or daughter of his own, his wife will still be known as Queen, since that was her title when she was widowed. If a child of hers becomes king or queen, she'd be Queen Mother (whether she used the title or not - much as Queen Elizabeth did and Queen Mary didn't); if her husband was succeeded by another family member, she'd become Queen Dowager. I read somewhere that a Queen Mother has more rights than a Queen Dowager (a fact that was supposed to have pleased Queen Mary after George V's death), but it didn't go into details about what those rights were.

A Queen Mother is also a Queen Dowager. A Queen Mother is the mother of the monarch. A Queen Dowager is the wife of a deceased King. A Queen Mother must have been a Queen first and therefore the wife of a deceased King but a Queen Dowager is not necessarily the mother of the monarch.

The last time that Britain had a Queen Dowager who was not also a Queen Mother was when Queen Victoria became Queen and Queen Adelaide was still alive. Queen Adelaide was a Queen Dowager only but later Queens such as Alexandra, Mary and Elizabeth were both Queen Dowagers and Queen Mothers during the reigns of their child(ren).

A Queen Mother is also a Queen Dowager. A Queen Mother is the mother of the monarch. A Queen Dowager is the wife of a deceased King. A Queen Mother must have been a Queen first and therefore the wife of a deceased King but a Queen Dowager is not necessarily the mother of the monarch.

The last time that Britain had a Queen Dowager who was not also a Queen Mother was when Queen Victoria became Queen and Queen Adelaide was still alive. Queen Adelaide was a Queen Dowager only but later Queens such as Alexandra, Mary and Elizabeth were both Queen Dowagers and Queen Mothers during the reigns of their child(ren).

A Queen Mother is also a Queen Dowager. A Queen Mother is the mother of the monarch. A Queen Dowager is the wife of a deceased King. A Queen Mother must have been a Queen first and therefore the wife of a deceased King but a Queen Dowager is not necessarily the mother of the monarch.

The last time that Britain had a Queen Dowager who was not also a Queen Mother was when Queen Victoria became Queen and Queen Adelaide was still alive. Queen Adelaide was a Queen Dowager only but later Queens such as Alexandra, Mary and Elizabeth were both Queen Dowagers and Queen Mothers during the reigns of their child(ren).

I always understood that the title "Queen Mother" was created for Queen Elizabeth as she did not wish to be known as Queen Dowager and to avoid confusion with her Daughter Queen Elizabeth II. Prior to that Queen Mary & Queen Alexandra were known only by their names rather than by a title.

__________________Everything I write here is my opinion and I mean no offence by it.

You are correct that the title Queen Mother was created for the late Queen Mum but the other ladies were also Queen Mothers as well as Queen Dowagers while Queen Adelaide wasn't.

I don't really think there is that much difference in status relating to a queen mother against a Queen Dowager except that a queen mother would have certain access rights to their child and status coming from that relationship that may not exist for a Queen Dowager.

When I get some time, and that won't be any time soon unfortunately, I will research the activities of Queen Adelaide and compare them with the later Queen's after the deaths of their husbands and kings.

Around the time of the beginning of Queen Elizabeth's reign after her father-King George VI- died, Queen Mary was still alive, Mary was known as "Queen Dowager" and since the elder Queen Elizabeth couldn't have that title and she didn't want people to be confused with the present Queen and she was QE's mother, she called herself the "Queen Mother" or "Queen Mum" for short and it stuck thereafter..... :)

__________________History is powerful stuff. One day your world is fine. The next day it's knocked for a metaphysical loop. Was Napoleon really at Waterloo? Would that change for what I had for breakfast? - Anonymous